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Le Bal des Spitfire (Miklo)
Le Bal des Spitfire (Spitfire Parade) was the third in a series of graphic novels first published in French by the Belgian publisher Emissions Lefrancq from 1990 onwards. Le bal was published in 1992 with story and artwork by Francis Bergèse, who did most of the early books in the series. The book was reprinted by Belgian publisher Miklo in 1998 and then by Le Lombard in 2003. Translations of the book exist in Dutch and German. Red Fox published an English translation in 1993 which was republished by Euro Books (India) in 2007. Synopsis The book contains graphic novel adaptations of 7 short stories from Spitfire Parade. There are no chapter divisions and the stories follow one another, with transitional panel text such as "some time later". 4 more short stories from Spitfire Parade would be adapted in Squadron Biggles published 2 years later. Plot (Click on expand to read) First Story (p.5-13) The first story is a fairly faithful adaptation of Biggles Takes Over. Only minor changes are made. Toddy does not wear an eye patch as described in the original text. He is supposed to have a Military Cross but the ribbon drawn appears to be a D.F.C. Bertie wears a red hunting suit rather than one of yellow suede. The part after the air battle where Tex and Ferris see that Bertie has the D.F.C and A.F.C. And come to respect him is omitted. Instead it ends with Ferris advising Tex to watch his own back because there won't always be a Bertie to look after him. Second Story (p.13-17) The adaptation of The Coming of Carrington is faithful in most respects. The opening interview between Tug and Biggles is shortened. The reference to No. 8 Squadron is dropped and the reason for Tug's antipathy to alcohol is not explained. Biggles mentions that Tug came from a Coastal Command Squadron and not a Coastal squadron. He adds, however, that Tug has already shot down 4 enemy aircraft. During the raid, Biggles dashes for a Vickers machine gun and not a Bren as in the original text. The details of how Tug shoots down the Junkers is slightly different. More importantly, in the original text, Tug's handling is unconventional but he does control the aircraft well enough and makes good, if scary, landings. In the adaptation, Algy observes that he is not entirely at home with the controls. He makes the interception well enough but always makes poor, bumpy landings. Third Story (p.17-23) The adaptation of The Arrival of Angus also closely follows the original text right down to the appearance of Towser. A little more humour is injected--Angus almost strangles "Nutty" Armand twice for the trouble he caused. "Nutty" Armand is also given a surname Laborne, which does not appear in the original text. As in the original text, the bomber which Angus and Armand try to steal is a Heinkel He 111. Fourth Story (p.24-28) The part of this story depicting the arrival of Taffy Hughes (as originally described in Taffy Trundles In) is told in a slightly different order. Bertie describes Taffy's destructive record and then they are taken by surprise when Taffy busts into the base in his tank. After the tank stops, a slightly dazed Taffy narrates for Biggles how his Spitfire was disabled and how he ended up with "alternative transport". The four Do-17s he shot down during the rugby game are changed to four Ju-87 Stukas. On his way to Rawlham, he shoots down some Junkers. These are drawn as Ju-88s although there are also He-111 bombers in the formation. The part with the He-112 fighters is not drawn (it would have been historically inaccurate). This story then ends with part of the plot line about the pig "Annie", only the role of pig-keeper is given to "Nutty" Armand and not Henry Harcourt as in the original text. Here, Armand is assigned to "Operation Pig". The rest of this plot line is drawn as part of subsequent stories. Characters *Biggles *Algy Lacey *Bertie Lissie *Ginger Hebblethwaite *Tex O'Hara *Toddy *George "Ferocity" Ferris *Tug Carrington *Angus Mackail *J.W. "Taffy" Hughes *"Nutty" Armand Laborne Research notes Nice to see the attention to detail and research which Francis Bergèse. His little embellishments lend colour and realism to the story. For example: *On page 6, Biggles reviews the personnel cards of some incoming officers and we see lots of extra biographical details. These are non-canonical but interesting nonetheless: **Bertie's first name is Albert. Prior to 666 Sqn, he had been with 19 Sqn, part of No. 12 Group. This is historically accurate: there really was a 19 Sqn. with 12 Group during the Battle of Britain. **Tug Carrington's first name is Tug. This is consistent with Johns' text. He is a pilot officer, and his previous unit was St. Althan (in Wales), consistent with him having been with Coastal Squadron. **Ferris' first name is George (consistent with the original text), and Tex is O'Hara's actual first name. They both have the rank of Flying Officers (consistent with the text). How they got this rank without combat experience is a matter of surmise. It could be that they were members of the Auxiliary Air Force from before the war. Both were posted from F.L.S. It is not clear what this is. *In story 4, Bergèse does not draw the encounter between Taffy Hughes and 5 Heinkel fighters. Their depiction would have been historically inaccurate. *The type of tank Taffy drives into the station is not stated in the original text but Bergèse has drawn it as a Matilda II, which is historically plausible. Editions References Category:Derivative works